From nick at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au Thu Mar 3 14:34:05 2016 From: nick at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au (Nick Bannon) Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2016 14:34:05 +0800 Subject: [tech] OpenLDAP olcSizeLimit size limits exceeded In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20160303063405.GJ8413@ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au> On Fri, Feb 20, 2015 at 02:45:16PM +0800, David Adam wrote: > Bumped up again... need a proper fix. > > On Mon, 28 Jul 2014, David Adam wrote: > > Tonight, [ASH] was trying to add a new user. The membername.ucc.asn.au > > alias wasn't being created correctly, and it turned out this was because > > the "list all users" operation in Zonemake (analagous to `getent passwd`) > > was hitting the maximum number of answers to a query in the LDAP server > > (1000). > > > > I've bumped up the maxium size to 1500 (olcSizeLimit: 1500), but perhaps > > we could consider: > > > > a) retiring some old usernames. `getent passwd | grep locked2004` might be > > a good place to start; 10 years to reactivate should be enough. > > b) enabling paged queries (setting `pagesize 500` or so in nslcd.conf on > > all our clients, and setting `olcSizeLimit: 1500 size.prtotal=unlimited` > > or similar > > c) removing size limits on the server altogether; I don't think we're ever > > going to have enough entries to seriously cause performance degradation. I think I got it to stick. Previous config: mussel:/# grep -R -i olcSizeLimit: /etc/ldap/slapd.d /etc/ldap/slapd.d/cn=config.ldif:olcSizeLimit: unlimited /etc/ldap/slapd.d/cn=config/olcDatabase={-1}frontend.ldif:olcSizeLimit: 1000 New config: /etc/ldap/slapd.d/cn=config.ldif:olcSizeLimit: unlimited /etc/ldap/slapd.d/cn=config/olcDatabase={-1}frontend.ldif:olcSizeLimit: unlimited Both settings are necessary, if they're missing it defaults to 500 results. Changed with: mussel:/etc/ldap/slapd.d# echo " dn: cn=config changetype: modify replace: olcSizeLimit olcSizeLimit: unlimited dn: olcDatabase={-1}frontend,cn=config changetype: modify replace: olcSizeLimit olcSizeLimit: unlimited "|ldapmodify -H ldapi:/// Part of the strangeness was: * we're using On-Line Configuration (OLC) in /etc/ldap/slap.d now, not any literal slapd.conf file, this scatters the config in hard-to-type directory/filenames * changing the first cn=config fixed it temporarily, but olcDatabase={-1}frontend,cn=config brought the sizelimit back on restart. * the OpenLDAP slapd.conf(5) documented default is 500 results, but 1000 was coming from somewhere * it's actually a hard maximum results limit, not a per-page limit * ...which makes paged mode or setting /etc/nslcd.conf:pagesize seem like a red herring. Clients can use paged mode if they like, but there's no point in the server capping the total results. Setting "SizeLimit: unlimited" or "SizeLimit: size.prtotal=unlimited" (500 results per page, unlimited pages; if the ldapsearch or nslcd clients use paging) on mussel temporarily fixed it: mussel:/etc/ldap/slapd.d# printf "version: 1\n\ndn: cn=config\nchangetype: modify\nreplace: olcSizeLimit\nolcSizeLimit: unlimited\n-\n" | ldapmodify -H ldapi:/// (or "ldapmodify -H ldapi:/// -Y EXTERNAL -D cn=config") Setting it on motsugo failed, because it's the slave, not the master: ldap_modify: Server is unwilling to perform (53) additional info: shadow context; no update referral but on motsugo, "systemctl restart slapd.service" broke the results coming from motsugo. motsugo# ldapsearch -H ldapi:/// -Y EXTERNAL -E pr=600/noprompt |grep '^# num' # numResponses: 1002 # numEntries: 1000 ...until one fixed it on mussel again. "slapcat -H ldap:///cn=config" helped figure out what ldapmodify dn= I needed to change the frontend config. Nick. -- Nick Bannon | "I made this letter longer than usual because nick-sig at rcpt.to | I lack the time to make it shorter." - Pascal From oxinabox at ucc.asn.au Thu Mar 3 15:23:18 2016 From: oxinabox at ucc.asn.au (Frames) Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2016 15:23:18 +0800 Subject: [tech] Giant .local dirs -- Installing steam wrong Message-ID: <56D7E666.4080007@ucc.asn.au> Hi, Attached is a list of /away directories sorted by size of the .local subfolder. I believe the .local subfolder is mostly used when you install steam games incorrectly on linux. I just fixed thedom102's account which was taking ages to log in, because of his 4.5Gb of steam games installed to the .local folder. Consider, you may want to delete your .local folder, if it doesn't contain things you use. Check it before you do (if you want, like free will maaan!) The 21 larges are: 3G ./wheel/oxinabox/.local 3G ./ucc/aznblade97/.local 3G ./ucc/shaun/.local 4G ./wheel/nick/.local 4G ./ucc/blargzap/.local 6G ./ucc/vix/.local 6G ./ucc/macina01/.local 8G ./ucc/jungpakdeep/.local 10G ./ucc/bugzy/.local 10G ./ucc/alexjthat/.local 10G ./ucc/shadow/.local 10G ./wheel/bobgeorge33/.local 10G ./ucc/mallow/.local 11G ./ucc/danielscott/.local 11G ./ucc/lostprophet/.local 11G ./ucc/koro/.local 14G ./ucc/baron_von_teapot/.local 15G ./ucc/gmbpepper/.local 16G ./ucc/21309582/.local 17G ./wheel/bob/.local 29G ./ucc/cheese852/.local Someone who knows about Steam may want to check and update http://wiki.ucc.asn.au/Steam Do with this information what you will, I am not changing anyones accounts. regards [*OX] Wheel Member -------------- next part -------------- 17K ./ucc/invisiblechocobo/.local 22K ./ucc/thedoctor/.local 33K ./ucc/shaz1au/.local 34K ./ucc/cameron/.local 34K ./ucc/cavdas/.local 34K ./ucc/ducky0/.local 34K ./ucc/fendred/.local 34K ./ucc/jamesr/.local 34K ./ucc/kadeton/.local 34K ./ucc/opurus/.local 34K ./ucc/woodsb02/.local 34K ./ucc/zaydana/.local 34K ./wheel/ben/.local 34K ./wheel/grahame/.local 34K ./wheel/yakk/.local 35K ./ucc/ceejus/.local 35K ./ucc/leon/.local 35K ./ucc/orkymayhem/.local 35K ./ucc/redandwhite/.local 35K ./ucc/ynderon/.local 37K ./ucc/xenium/.local 39K ./ucc/ciaura/.local 39K ./ucc/clara/.local 39K ./ucc/dinysaw/.local 39K ./ucc/firefly/.local 39K ./ucc/jedin/.local 39K ./ucc/pgrecommended/.local 39K ./ucc/quirky_asian/.local 39K ./ucc/vegeta/.local 39K ./ucc/wentri/.local 40K ./ucc/kozahk/.local 41K ./ucc/stevo_073/.local 42K ./ucc/neshbot/.local 43K ./ucc/banana/.local 43K ./ucc/booger/.local 43K ./ucc/jaym/.local 43K ./ucc/markish/.local 43K ./ucc/nickc/.local 43K ./ucc/ninjeff/.local 43K ./ucc/wanjo/.local 44K ./ucc/ntsp/.local 44K ./ucc/squalo/.local 45K ./ucc/andyklasp/.local 45K ./ucc/swingcool/.local 45K ./wheel/mtearle/.local 46K ./ucc/happycatfish/.local 48K ./ucc/adrianw/.local 48K 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./wheel/sj26/.local 1G ./ucc/captaincrunch/.local 1G ./ucc/duckman/.local 1G ./wheel/sulix/.local 1G ./wheel/samuel/.local 1G ./ucc/douglas/.local 1G ./wheel/matches/.local 1G ./ucc/draeke/.local 1G ./ucc/qrqd/.local 1G ./wheel/unmercifulfish/.local 2G ./ucc/sup1212/.local 2G ./wheel/gozzarda/.local 2G ./ucc/wrestler/.local 2G ./wheel/hantale/.local 3G ./ucc/random58/.local 3G ./wheel/oxinabox/.local 3G ./ucc/aznblade97/.local 3G ./ucc/shaun/.local 4G ./wheel/nick/.local 4G ./ucc/blargzap/.local 6G ./ucc/vix/.local 6G ./ucc/macina01/.local 8G ./ucc/jungpakdeep/.local 10G ./ucc/bugzy/.local 10G ./ucc/alexjthat/.local 10G ./ucc/shadow/.local 10G ./wheel/bobgeorge33/.local 10G ./ucc/mallow/.local 11G ./ucc/danielscott/.local 11G ./ucc/lostprophet/.local 11G ./ucc/koro/.local 14G ./ucc/baron_von_teapot/.local 15G ./ucc/gmbpepper/.local 16G ./ucc/21309582/.local 17G ./wheel/bob/.local 29G ./ucc/cheese852/.local From matt at ucc.asn.au Sat Mar 5 11:10:47 2016 From: matt at ucc.asn.au (Matt Johnston) Date: Sat, 5 Mar 2016 11:10:47 +0800 Subject: [tech] dkim for outbound mail Message-ID: <05408AA9-893C-470F-B824-D067ED71FAB1@ucc.asn.au> UCC's outbound mail should now be signed DKIM. That makes Google and some other places trust it more. As far as I know it shouldn't affect people sending @ucc.asn.au/@ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au email through other mailservers, it's just a hint (I haven't set up a DMARC policy to restrict outbound servers). Let me know if you see any problems. Cheers, Matt -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/tech/attachments/20160305/0e0a6b02/attachment.htm From mjpomery at ucc.asn.au Mon Mar 7 14:46:55 2016 From: mjpomery at ucc.asn.au (Mitchell Pomery) Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2016 14:46:55 +0800 (AWST) Subject: [tech] Purchase of 2 New Machines Message-ID: Hey All, As per meeting minutes, we are looking at purchasing two new machines. Specs for both are as follows: Mid Sized ATX Case 750 Watt Modular Power Supply Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H Motherboard Intel Core i5 6400 16GB RAM (in 2x8GB Sticks) 2x 2TB Hard Drives (One for operating system, one for files/games) DVD Drive GeForce GTX 960 2GB Cost is just around $1100 per machine. One machine will also need a Windows license (Roughly $200), with the preference being to get a Windows 7 License if possible, otherwise going with a Windows 10 one. Total cost: Around $2500, depending on who we get it from. Aim is to build two machines that could operate as either Windows or Linux machines, with one of these taking the place of Cockgrunter, the other taking the place of Pinball. The parts salvaged from these two machines will be put into other machines where suitable, or be disposed of/put into the parts bin where not. Regards, Mitchell Pomery 2015 President University Computer Club From mjpomery at ucc.asn.au Tue Mar 8 18:46:32 2016 From: mjpomery at ucc.asn.au (Mitchell Pomery) Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2016 18:46:32 +0800 (AWST) Subject: [tech] What Happened to 'Grunter? Message-ID: Hey All, I had a member ask me what happened to 'grunter. They said that it all of a sudden had linux on it when it normally has Windows on it. I haven't seen anything go to the tech@ mailing list. Does anyone know what happened? Regards, Mitchell Pomery 2015 President University Computer Club From oxinabox at ucc.asn.au Tue Mar 8 19:20:33 2016 From: oxinabox at ucc.asn.au (Frames) Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2016 19:20:33 +0800 Subject: [tech] What Happened to 'Grunter? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <56DEB581.8040206@ucc.asn.au> I believe we are obliged as a condition of donation that grunter is to have windows 10 only on it. [*OX] On 8/03/2016 6:46 PM, Mitchell Pomery wrote: > Hey All, > > I had a member ask me what happened to 'grunter. They said that it all of > a sudden had linux on it when it normally has Windows on it. > > I haven't seen anything go to the tech@ mailing list. Does anyone know > what happened? > > Regards, > Mitchell Pomery > > 2015 President > University Computer Club > > _______________________________________________ > List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/tech > > Unsubscribe here: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/options/tech/oxinabox%40ucc.asn.au From bob at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au Tue Mar 8 20:32:30 2016 From: bob at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au (Andrew Adamson) Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2016 20:32:30 +0800 (AWST) Subject: [tech] Purchase of 2 New Machines In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Mitch, That looks like a pretty solid build, but I think there's a couple of ways we can trim it without compromising on computing power or reliability. This is particularly relevant given that the clubs income is about to halve. For starters, I suggest we ditch the DVD drives; they barely get used on the machines that do have them, and we bought an external DVD drive for this exact reason (it lives in the tool cupboard). Time for that to pay for itself: $40 saved across two machines. When you say "Pinball" I assume you mean "Porcupine" - after all, Porcupine is a C2D while Pinball is an i5 with decent specs. Porcupine happens to have a decent case and PSU already, as we were careful in the past to try and get generic cases that would last across a couple of generations and were compatible with our security requirements. If I recall correctly it's a CoolerMaster Centurion 5 case (mk 1 or 2, not sure) and there's nothing wrong with it. We have spare blanking plates and internal parts for it in the machine room. Its power supply is also fine: $120 saved on that combo. Cockgrunters case is not compatible with our security as far as I know, and needs replacing. Might I suggest a CoolerMaster Centurion? A 750W power supply is pretty overkill in this case. The PSU recommended on the geforce.com website for an i7 3.2 GHz with a GTX 960 is 400W. Given that the trend is towards cooler and lower-wattage electronics, I don't think 750W is necessary even for future proofing. If you don't get a PSU with the case, something like the $93 550W coolermaster GM RS550-AMAAB1 from msy might be the go. NB: many of the clubroom machines have coolermaster silent pro PSU's in them and they've stood the test of time. As someone who helps maintain the clubroom machines, I'm pretty keen on an SSD for the system disk. If nothing else, it makes maintenance more bearable when things install quickly. Can we swap one of the 2TB disks for a 240GB/250GB ssd in each machine? I have had good results with Kingston V300 at work, but I would understand if people want to go with Samsung instead. The GTX960 is only 6% more powerful than the GTX950 based on a range of benchmarks I looked at. It's around 30% more expensive, and I would challenge anyone to be able to tell the difference, given the games we usually run and the resolutions of our screens. Given the number of graphics cards failures we have, I think the money would be better spent on a card with more reliable fans and slightly less power. By more reliable fans I mean ball bearing fans. "Maglev" and sleeve bearings are shit. Gigabyte GPU fans are shit and we have proven they don't survive in UCC. EVGA seem to be the only company doing ball bearing fans on the GTX 950. So based on your specs and the above suggestions, I took the liberty of doing a more exact costing: 2 of https://www.ple.com.au/Products/620472/Intel-Core-i5-6400-Skylake-27GHz-6MB-Retail-Box 2 of http://www.msy.com.au/pc-components/16372-gigabyte-b150m-d3h-intel-b150-s1151-4xddr4-2xpciex16-hdmi-dvi-d-sub-usb30-microatx-mb.html 4 of https://www.ple.com.au/Products/620893/Kingston-8GB-Single-DDR4-Value-Series-C15-2133MHz 2 of http://www.msy.com.au/pc-components/5282-kingston-kinsv300s37a-240g-240g-ssdnow-v300-sata3-25-ssd-hdd.html 2 of http://www.msy.com.au/waonline/pc-components/5103-seagate-35-barracuda-2tb-st2000dm001-sata3-7200rpm-64mb-cache-hard-disk.html 2 of https://www.pccasegear.com/products/33067/evga-geforce-gtx-950-superclocked-acx-2-0-2gb 1 of https://www.ple.com.au/Products/611809/Cooler-Master-Centurion-6-Black-Mid-Tower-Case---500W-PSU Total cost without shipping: $2171 Andrew Adamson bob at ucc.asn.au |"If you can't beat them, join them, and then beat them." | | ---Peter's Laws | On Mon, 7 Mar 2016, Mitchell Pomery wrote: > Hey All, > > As per meeting minutes, we are looking at purchasing two new machines. > Specs for both are as follows: > > Mid Sized ATX Case > 750 Watt Modular Power Supply > Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H Motherboard > Intel Core i5 6400 > 16GB RAM (in 2x8GB Sticks) > 2x 2TB Hard Drives (One for operating system, one for files/games) > DVD Drive > GeForce GTX 960 2GB > > Cost is just around $1100 per machine. > > One machine will also need a Windows license (Roughly $200), with the > preference being to get a Windows 7 License if possible, otherwise going > with a Windows 10 one. > > Total cost: Around $2500, depending on who we get it from. > > Aim is to build two machines that could operate as either Windows or Linux > machines, with one of these taking the place of Cockgrunter, the other > taking the place of Pinball. The parts salvaged from these two machines > will be put into other machines where suitable, or be disposed of/put into > the parts bin where not. > > Regards, > Mitchell Pomery > > 2015 President > University Computer Club > _______________________________________________ > List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/tech > > Unsubscribe here: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/options/tech/bob%40ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au > From matt at ucc.asn.au Tue Mar 8 20:59:06 2016 From: matt at ucc.asn.au (Matt Johnston) Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2016 20:59:06 +0800 Subject: [tech] dkim for outbound mail In-Reply-To: <05408AA9-893C-470F-B824-D067ED71FAB1@ucc.asn.au> References: <05408AA9-893C-470F-B824-D067ED71FAB1@ucc.asn.au> Message-ID: <63CD56C8-F47D-40FA-AE15-600753736198@ucc.asn.au> Andrew asked on IRC what things needed fixing to get it going. - Set up a new opendkim key on mooneye following https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Postfix/DKIM It had been set up in the past with a 536bit key so I just had to make a new one - Add a zone for _domainkey.ucc.asn.au and _domainkey.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au in ucc.zones, based off the existing entry for open.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au Note that unlike "open" it needed the A record to be disabled, '_' isn't a valid letter for hostnames. Also added those zones to /etc/bind/named.conf.local. Creating a new zone seemed necessary to get UCC's secondaries to take the domain - mooneye would serve the TXT record below fine without it. - Added TXT entries in ucc.machines for ucc-2016-3._domainkey.ucc.asn.au etc from the opendkim key. https://www.dmarcanalyzer.com and http://dkimvalidator.com are good for testing. Cheers, Matt > On Sat 5/3/2016, at 11:10 am, Matt Johnston wrote: > > UCC's outbound mail should now be signed DKIM. That makes Google and some other places trust it more. > As far as I know it shouldn't affect people sending @ucc.asn.au/@ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au email through other mailservers, it's just a hint (I haven't set up a DMARC policy to restrict outbound servers). Let me know if you see any problems. > > Cheers, > Matt From jmeerjt11 at hotmail.com Wed Mar 9 00:07:44 2016 From: jmeerjt11 at hotmail.com (jordan meerwald) Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2016 16:07:44 +0000 Subject: [tech] [committee] Purchase of 2 New Machines In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I agree with most of the points raised here. DVD drives in each machine are unnecessary and the i5 750 in Pinball can last another year (I have the same in my own PC) if theres a core 2 duo that could be replaced instead. The PLE centurion 6 has an included cheap 500W PSU, its closer to $100 without that (http://www.vtechindustries.com.au/catalog/product/view/id/10420/s/cooler-ma ster-centurion-6-black-case-rc-610-kkn1/ ) There are probably cheaper cases that are suitable but that looks quite nice, and the power button being on the corner is convenient. If we're buying from a single supplier the case will really depend on their stock. When I built Corydoras it was recommended to me that we should spend at least $120 on a PSU, 750W seems high and paying extra for modular isn't really necessary, semi-modular is probably worth it though. I didn't realise 240GB SSDs were down to around the $100 mark. I'm not exactly sure how logins work, but would large /away directories cause issues with how many times you can write to an SSD? Unless we need large amounts of storage on the OS drive an SSD is probably worth it. Given we're expecting these machines to last till 2020 at least, and likely a move to 1440p/1600p in that time, I think a little extra GPU power will be worth it. Most of the Windows machines have 960s in them currently iirc. The benchmarks I've looked at show a 20-30% performance difference. If you can find a Windows 7 Student license around they were about $80, but apparently non-OEM copies of Windows 7 are getting quite hard to find. It may even be worth buying a sub-$100 refurbished computer that has a windows license installed just to transfer it. [JDN] -----Original Message----- From: committee-bounces+kurama101=ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au [mailto:committee-bounces+kurama101=ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au] On Behalf Of Andrew Adamson Sent: Tuesday, 8 March 2016 8:33 PM To: Mitchell Pomery Cc: tech at ucc.asn.au; committee at ucc.asn.au Subject: Re: [committee] [tech] Purchase of 2 New Machines Hi Mitch, That looks like a pretty solid build, but I think there's a couple of ways we can trim it without compromising on computing power or reliability. This is particularly relevant given that the clubs income is about to halve. For starters, I suggest we ditch the DVD drives; they barely get used on the machines that do have them, and we bought an external DVD drive for this exact reason (it lives in the tool cupboard). Time for that to pay for itself: $40 saved across two machines. When you say "Pinball" I assume you mean "Porcupine" - after all, Porcupine is a C2D while Pinball is an i5 with decent specs. Porcupine happens to have a decent case and PSU already, as we were careful in the past to try and get generic cases that would last across a couple of generations and were compatible with our security requirements. If I recall correctly it's a CoolerMaster Centurion 5 case (mk 1 or 2, not sure) and there's nothing wrong with it. We have spare blanking plates and internal parts for it in the machine room. Its power supply is also fine: $120 saved on that combo. Cockgrunters case is not compatible with our security as far as I know, and needs replacing. Might I suggest a CoolerMaster Centurion? A 750W power supply is pretty overkill in this case. The PSU recommended on the geforce.com website for an i7 3.2 GHz with a GTX 960 is 400W. Given that the trend is towards cooler and lower-wattage electronics, I don't think 750W is necessary even for future proofing. If you don't get a PSU with the case, something like the $93 550W coolermaster GM RS550-AMAAB1 from msy might be the go. NB: many of the clubroom machines have coolermaster silent pro PSU's in them and they've stood the test of time. As someone who helps maintain the clubroom machines, I'm pretty keen on an SSD for the system disk. If nothing else, it makes maintenance more bearable when things install quickly. Can we swap one of the 2TB disks for a 240GB/250GB ssd in each machine? I have had good results with Kingston V300 at work, but I would understand if people want to go with Samsung instead. The GTX960 is only 6% more powerful than the GTX950 based on a range of benchmarks I looked at. It's around 30% more expensive, and I would challenge anyone to be able to tell the difference, given the games we usually run and the resolutions of our screens. Given the number of graphics cards failures we have, I think the money would be better spent on a card with more reliable fans and slightly less power. By more reliable fans I mean ball bearing fans. "Maglev" and sleeve bearings are shit. Gigabyte GPU fans are shit and we have proven they don't survive in UCC. EVGA seem to be the only company doing ball bearing fans on the GTX 950. So based on your specs and the above suggestions, I took the liberty of doing a more exact costing: 2 of https://www.ple.com.au/Products/620472/Intel-Core-i5-6400-Skylake-27GHz-6MB- Retail-Box 2 of http://www.msy.com.au/pc-components/16372-gigabyte-b150m-d3h-intel-b150-s115 1-4xddr4-2xpciex16-hdmi-dvi-d-sub-usb30-microatx-mb.html 4 of https://www.ple.com.au/Products/620893/Kingston-8GB-Single-DDR4-Value-Series -C15-2133MHz 2 of http://www.msy.com.au/pc-components/5282-kingston-kinsv300s37a-240g-240g-ssd now-v300-sata3-25-ssd-hdd.html 2 of http://www.msy.com.au/waonline/pc-components/5103-seagate-35-barracuda-2tb-s t2000dm001-sata3-7200rpm-64mb-cache-hard-disk.html 2 of https://www.pccasegear.com/products/33067/evga-geforce-gtx-950-superclocked- acx-2-0-2gb 1 of https://www.ple.com.au/Products/611809/Cooler-Master-Centurion-6-Black-Mid-T ower-Case---500W-PSU Total cost without shipping: $2171 Andrew Adamson bob at ucc.asn.au |"If you can't beat them, join them, and then beat them." | | ---Peter's Laws | On Mon, 7 Mar 2016, Mitchell Pomery wrote: > Hey All, > > As per meeting minutes, we are looking at purchasing two new machines. > Specs for both are as follows: > > Mid Sized ATX Case > 750 Watt Modular Power Supply > Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H Motherboard > Intel Core i5 6400 > 16GB RAM (in 2x8GB Sticks) > 2x 2TB Hard Drives (One for operating system, one for files/games) DVD > Drive GeForce GTX 960 2GB > > Cost is just around $1100 per machine. > > One machine will also need a Windows license (Roughly $200), with the > preference being to get a Windows 7 License if possible, otherwise > going with a Windows 10 one. > > Total cost: Around $2500, depending on who we get it from. > > Aim is to build two machines that could operate as either Windows or > Linux machines, with one of these taking the place of Cockgrunter, the > other taking the place of Pinball. The parts salvaged from these two > machines will be put into other machines where suitable, or be > disposed of/put into the parts bin where not. > > Regards, > Mitchell Pomery > > 2015 President > University Computer Club > _______________________________________________ > List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/tech > > Unsubscribe here: > http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/options/tech/bob%40ucc.gu.uwa.e > du.au > _______________________________________________ List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/committee From bob at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au Wed Mar 9 08:15:28 2016 From: bob at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au (Andrew Adamson) Date: Wed, 9 Mar 2016 08:15:28 +0800 (AWST) Subject: [tech] [committee] Purchase of 2 New Machines In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I included a case with a PSU because I thought cockgrunter had been having some hardware issues and I didn't want to carry them across to a new machine. If that's not the case (budum-tish), then yes it seems fine to re-use cockgrunters PSU. Modular is neat but when push comes to shove I'm not sure what else we gain out of it. SSD's are pretty much at a point where we don't need to care how much is written to them - we won't wear them out. It's interesting that you want the machines to last to 2020+. I don't think this will be possible without better fans on our graphics cards, hence why one model lower but better fan bearings. I also stand by my "only 5% better" claim. Here are the two sites I'm basing this off: http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-960-vs-Nvidia-GTX-950/3165vs3510 http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-960-vs-GeForce-GTX-950 I didn't spec a windows licence in my build because corvo was bought with the promise that it was going to replace cockgrunter. Instead cockgrunter stayed and took the place of what should have been a linux or mac box. Andrew Adamson bob at ucc.asn.au |"If you can't beat them, join them, and then beat them." | | ---Peter's Laws | On Tue, 8 Mar 2016, jordan meerwald wrote: > I agree with most of the points raised here. DVD drives in each machine are > unnecessary and the i5 750 in Pinball can last another year (I have the same > in my own PC) if theres a core 2 duo that could be replaced instead. > > The PLE centurion 6 has an included cheap 500W PSU, its closer to $100 > without that > (http://www.vtechindustries.com.au/catalog/product/view/id/10420/s/cooler-ma > ster-centurion-6-black-case-rc-610-kkn1/ ) > There are probably cheaper cases that are suitable but that looks quite > nice, and the power button being on the corner is convenient. If we're > buying from a single supplier the case will really depend on their stock. > > When I built Corydoras it was recommended to me that we should spend at > least $120 on a PSU, 750W seems high and paying extra for modular isn't > really necessary, semi-modular is probably worth it though. > > I didn't realise 240GB SSDs were down to around the $100 mark. I'm not > exactly sure how logins work, but would large /away directories cause issues > with how many times you can write to an SSD? Unless we need large amounts of > storage on the OS drive an SSD is probably worth it. > > Given we're expecting these machines to last till 2020 at least, and likely > a move to 1440p/1600p in that time, I think a little extra GPU power will be > worth it. Most of the Windows machines have 960s in them currently iirc. The > benchmarks I've looked at show a 20-30% performance difference. > > If you can find a Windows 7 Student license around they were about $80, but > apparently non-OEM copies of Windows 7 are getting quite hard to find. It > may even be worth buying a sub-$100 refurbished computer that has a windows > license installed just to transfer it. > > [JDN] > > -----Original Message----- > From: committee-bounces+kurama101=ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au > [mailto:committee-bounces+kurama101=ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au] On > Behalf Of Andrew Adamson > Sent: Tuesday, 8 March 2016 8:33 PM > To: Mitchell Pomery > Cc: tech at ucc.asn.au; committee at ucc.asn.au > Subject: Re: [committee] [tech] Purchase of 2 New Machines > > Hi Mitch, > > That looks like a pretty solid build, but I think there's a couple of ways > we can trim it without compromising on computing power or reliability. > This is particularly relevant given that the clubs income is about to halve. > > For starters, I suggest we ditch the DVD drives; they barely get used on the > machines that do have them, and we bought an external DVD drive for this > exact reason (it lives in the tool cupboard). Time for that to pay for > itself: $40 saved across two machines. > > When you say "Pinball" I assume you mean "Porcupine" - after all, Porcupine > is a C2D while Pinball is an i5 with decent specs. Porcupine happens to have > a decent case and PSU already, as we were careful in the past to try and get > generic cases that would last across a couple of generations and were > compatible with our security requirements. If I recall correctly it's a > CoolerMaster Centurion 5 case (mk 1 or 2, not > sure) and there's nothing wrong with it. We have spare blanking plates and > internal parts for it in the machine room. Its power supply is also fine: > $120 saved on that combo. Cockgrunters case is not compatible with our > security as far as I know, and needs replacing. Might I suggest a > CoolerMaster Centurion? > > A 750W power supply is pretty overkill in this case. The PSU recommended on > the geforce.com website for an i7 3.2 GHz with a GTX 960 is 400W. Given that > the trend is towards cooler and lower-wattage electronics, I don't think > 750W is necessary even for future proofing. If you don't get a PSU with the > case, something like the $93 550W coolermaster GM RS550-AMAAB1 from msy > might be the go. NB: many of the clubroom machines have coolermaster silent > pro PSU's in them and they've stood the test of time. > > As someone who helps maintain the clubroom machines, I'm pretty keen on an > SSD for the system disk. If nothing else, it makes maintenance more bearable > when things install quickly. Can we swap one of the 2TB disks for a > 240GB/250GB ssd in each machine? I have had good results with Kingston > V300 at work, but I would understand if people want to go with Samsung > instead. > > The GTX960 is only 6% more powerful than the GTX950 based on a range of > benchmarks I looked at. It's around 30% more expensive, and I would > challenge anyone to be able to tell the difference, given the games we > usually run and the resolutions of our screens. Given the number of graphics > cards failures we have, I think the money would be better spent on a card > with more reliable fans and slightly less power. By more reliable fans I > mean ball bearing fans. "Maglev" and sleeve bearings are shit. Gigabyte GPU > fans are shit and we have proven they don't survive in UCC. EVGA seem to be > the only company doing ball bearing fans on the GTX 950. > > So based on your specs and the above suggestions, I took the liberty of > doing a more exact costing: > > 2 of > https://www.ple.com.au/Products/620472/Intel-Core-i5-6400-Skylake-27GHz-6MB- > Retail-Box > 2 of > http://www.msy.com.au/pc-components/16372-gigabyte-b150m-d3h-intel-b150-s115 > 1-4xddr4-2xpciex16-hdmi-dvi-d-sub-usb30-microatx-mb.html > 4 of > https://www.ple.com.au/Products/620893/Kingston-8GB-Single-DDR4-Value-Series > -C15-2133MHz > 2 of > http://www.msy.com.au/pc-components/5282-kingston-kinsv300s37a-240g-240g-ssd > now-v300-sata3-25-ssd-hdd.html > 2 of > http://www.msy.com.au/waonline/pc-components/5103-seagate-35-barracuda-2tb-s > t2000dm001-sata3-7200rpm-64mb-cache-hard-disk.html > 2 of > https://www.pccasegear.com/products/33067/evga-geforce-gtx-950-superclocked- > acx-2-0-2gb > 1 of > https://www.ple.com.au/Products/611809/Cooler-Master-Centurion-6-Black-Mid-T > ower-Case---500W-PSU > > Total cost without shipping: $2171 > > Andrew Adamson > bob at ucc.asn.au > > |"If you can't beat them, join them, and then beat them." | > | ---Peter's Laws | > > On Mon, 7 Mar 2016, Mitchell Pomery wrote: > > > Hey All, > > > > As per meeting minutes, we are looking at purchasing two new machines. > > Specs for both are as follows: > > > > Mid Sized ATX Case > > 750 Watt Modular Power Supply > > Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H Motherboard > > Intel Core i5 6400 > > 16GB RAM (in 2x8GB Sticks) > > 2x 2TB Hard Drives (One for operating system, one for files/games) DVD > > Drive GeForce GTX 960 2GB > > > > Cost is just around $1100 per machine. > > > > One machine will also need a Windows license (Roughly $200), with the > > preference being to get a Windows 7 License if possible, otherwise > > going with a Windows 10 one. > > > > Total cost: Around $2500, depending on who we get it from. > > > > Aim is to build two machines that could operate as either Windows or > > Linux machines, with one of these taking the place of Cockgrunter, the > > other taking the place of Pinball. The parts salvaged from these two > > machines will be put into other machines where suitable, or be > > disposed of/put into the parts bin where not. > > > > Regards, > > Mitchell Pomery > > > > 2015 President > > University Computer Club > > _______________________________________________ > > List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/tech > > > > Unsubscribe here: > > http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/options/tech/bob%40ucc.gu.uwa.e > > du.au > > > _______________________________________________ > List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/committee > _______________________________________________ > List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/tech > > Unsubscribe here: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/options/tech/bob%40ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au > From oxinabox at ucc.asn.au Wed Mar 9 08:19:07 2016 From: oxinabox at ucc.asn.au (Frames) Date: Wed, 9 Mar 2016 08:19:07 +0800 Subject: [tech] [committee] Purchase of 2 New Machines In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <56DF6BFB.10103@ucc.asn.au> On 9/03/2016 8:15 AM, Andrew Adamson wrote: > I didn't spec a windows licence in my build because corvo was bought with > the promise that it was going to replace cockgrunter. Instead cockgrunter > stayed and took the place of what should have been a linux or mac box. This. From mjpomery at ucc.asn.au Wed Mar 9 20:06:08 2016 From: mjpomery at ucc.asn.au (Mitchell Pomery) Date: Wed, 9 Mar 2016 20:06:08 +0800 (AWST) Subject: [tech] What Happened to 'Grunter? In-Reply-To: <56DEB581.8040206@ucc.asn.au> References: <56DEB581.8040206@ucc.asn.au> Message-ID: Hey, I haven't heard anything about this, and it worries me that we may have members going around reinstalling macines without warning or reason. Bob: I caught up with tpg and asked him of he knew and he said to ask you. Do you know why cockgrunter now has linux installed on it? Regards, Mitchell Pomery 2015 President University Computer Club On Tue, 8 Mar 2016, Frames wrote: > I believe we are obliged as a condition of donation > that grunter is to have windows 10 only on it. > > [*OX] > > > On 8/03/2016 6:46 PM, Mitchell Pomery wrote: >> Hey All, >> >> I had a member ask me what happened to 'grunter. They said that it all of >> a sudden had linux on it when it normally has Windows on it. >> >> I haven't seen anything go to the tech@ mailing list. Does anyone know >> what happened? >> >> Regards, >> Mitchell Pomery >> >> 2015 President >> University Computer Club >> >> _______________________________________________ >> List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/tech >> >> Unsubscribe here: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/options/tech/oxinabox%40ucc.asn.au > > _______________________________________________ > List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/tech > > Unsubscribe here: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/options/tech/bobgeorge33%40ucc.asn.au > From mjpomery at ucc.asn.au Sat Mar 12 13:29:58 2016 From: mjpomery at ucc.asn.au (Mitchell Pomery) Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2016 13:29:58 +0800 (AWST) Subject: [tech] [committee] Purchase of 2 New Machines In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hey, It's a personal preference to have DVD drives in machines, so much so that I would be willing to donate the $40 to make sure that they have them. Power supply: We can drop it down to a 500-600W one for sure. I'd like to keep it modular (or at least semi modular) just for ease of use and prettiness inside the case (cable management yo). I'd prefer to avoid SSD's as Operating system disks for the time being. On the windows machines the disk will be nowhere near large enough for profiles, and I would like both machines to be able to have the same specs. That said, assuming we can get one at around the $100 mark. >From my conversation with [BOB] last night, the reason for picking that specific graphics card was because it should have ball bearing fans, which should last much longer than the fans of graphics cards we have had die previously. I'll have a look at the different GTX 960's to find out which ones have ball bearing fans. One thing I wouild like to see UCC start doing is purchasing machines from one supplier. Why? It builds a relationship with that supplier and will help us to secure discounts, for both ourselves and our members. And as you've said, this is important as our income is about to take a hit. Anyway, I will be placing the order Monday afternoon. Thanks, Mitchell Pomery 2015 President University Computer Club On Tue, 8 Mar 2016, jordan meerwald wrote: > I agree with most of the points raised here. DVD drives in each machine are > unnecessary and the i5 750 in Pinball can last another year (I have the same > in my own PC) if theres a core 2 duo that could be replaced instead. > > The PLE centurion 6 has an included cheap 500W PSU, its closer to $100 > without that > (http://www.vtechindustries.com.au/catalog/product/view/id/10420/s/cooler-ma > ster-centurion-6-black-case-rc-610-kkn1/ ) > There are probably cheaper cases that are suitable but that looks quite > nice, and the power button being on the corner is convenient. If we're > buying from a single supplier the case will really depend on their stock. > > When I built Corydoras it was recommended to me that we should spend at > least $120 on a PSU, 750W seems high and paying extra for modular isn't > really necessary, semi-modular is probably worth it though. > > I didn't realise 240GB SSDs were down to around the $100 mark. I'm not > exactly sure how logins work, but would large /away directories cause issues > with how many times you can write to an SSD? Unless we need large amounts of > storage on the OS drive an SSD is probably worth it. > > Given we're expecting these machines to last till 2020 at least, and likely > a move to 1440p/1600p in that time, I think a little extra GPU power will be > worth it. Most of the Windows machines have 960s in them currently iirc. The > benchmarks I've looked at show a 20-30% performance difference. > > If you can find a Windows 7 Student license around they were about $80, but > apparently non-OEM copies of Windows 7 are getting quite hard to find. It > may even be worth buying a sub-$100 refurbished computer that has a windows > license installed just to transfer it. > > [JDN] > > -----Original Message----- > From: committee-bounces+kurama101=ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au > [mailto:committee-bounces+kurama101=ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au] On > Behalf Of Andrew Adamson > Sent: Tuesday, 8 March 2016 8:33 PM > To: Mitchell Pomery > Cc: tech at ucc.asn.au; committee at ucc.asn.au > Subject: Re: [committee] [tech] Purchase of 2 New Machines > > Hi Mitch, > > That looks like a pretty solid build, but I think there's a couple of ways > we can trim it without compromising on computing power or reliability. > This is particularly relevant given that the clubs income is about to halve. > > For starters, I suggest we ditch the DVD drives; they barely get used on the > machines that do have them, and we bought an external DVD drive for this > exact reason (it lives in the tool cupboard). Time for that to pay for > itself: $40 saved across two machines. > > When you say "Pinball" I assume you mean "Porcupine" - after all, Porcupine > is a C2D while Pinball is an i5 with decent specs. Porcupine happens to have > a decent case and PSU already, as we were careful in the past to try and get > generic cases that would last across a couple of generations and were > compatible with our security requirements. If I recall correctly it's a > CoolerMaster Centurion 5 case (mk 1 or 2, not > sure) and there's nothing wrong with it. We have spare blanking plates and > internal parts for it in the machine room. Its power supply is also fine: > $120 saved on that combo. Cockgrunters case is not compatible with our > security as far as I know, and needs replacing. Might I suggest a > CoolerMaster Centurion? > > A 750W power supply is pretty overkill in this case. The PSU recommended on > the geforce.com website for an i7 3.2 GHz with a GTX 960 is 400W. Given that > the trend is towards cooler and lower-wattage electronics, I don't think > 750W is necessary even for future proofing. If you don't get a PSU with the > case, something like the $93 550W coolermaster GM RS550-AMAAB1 from msy > might be the go. NB: many of the clubroom machines have coolermaster silent > pro PSU's in them and they've stood the test of time. > > As someone who helps maintain the clubroom machines, I'm pretty keen on an > SSD for the system disk. If nothing else, it makes maintenance more bearable > when things install quickly. Can we swap one of the 2TB disks for a > 240GB/250GB ssd in each machine? I have had good results with Kingston > V300 at work, but I would understand if people want to go with Samsung > instead. > > The GTX960 is only 6% more powerful than the GTX950 based on a range of > benchmarks I looked at. It's around 30% more expensive, and I would > challenge anyone to be able to tell the difference, given the games we > usually run and the resolutions of our screens. Given the number of graphics > cards failures we have, I think the money would be better spent on a card > with more reliable fans and slightly less power. By more reliable fans I > mean ball bearing fans. "Maglev" and sleeve bearings are shit. Gigabyte GPU > fans are shit and we have proven they don't survive in UCC. EVGA seem to be > the only company doing ball bearing fans on the GTX 950. > > So based on your specs and the above suggestions, I took the liberty of > doing a more exact costing: > > 2 of > https://www.ple.com.au/Products/620472/Intel-Core-i5-6400-Skylake-27GHz-6MB- > Retail-Box > 2 of > http://www.msy.com.au/pc-components/16372-gigabyte-b150m-d3h-intel-b150-s115 > 1-4xddr4-2xpciex16-hdmi-dvi-d-sub-usb30-microatx-mb.html > 4 of > https://www.ple.com.au/Products/620893/Kingston-8GB-Single-DDR4-Value-Series > -C15-2133MHz > 2 of > http://www.msy.com.au/pc-components/5282-kingston-kinsv300s37a-240g-240g-ssd > now-v300-sata3-25-ssd-hdd.html > 2 of > http://www.msy.com.au/waonline/pc-components/5103-seagate-35-barracuda-2tb-s > t2000dm001-sata3-7200rpm-64mb-cache-hard-disk.html > 2 of > https://www.pccasegear.com/products/33067/evga-geforce-gtx-950-superclocked- > acx-2-0-2gb > 1 of > https://www.ple.com.au/Products/611809/Cooler-Master-Centurion-6-Black-Mid-T > ower-Case---500W-PSU > > Total cost without shipping: $2171 > > Andrew Adamson > bob at ucc.asn.au > > |"If you can't beat them, join them, and then beat them." | > | ---Peter's Laws | > > On Mon, 7 Mar 2016, Mitchell Pomery wrote: > >> Hey All, >> >> As per meeting minutes, we are looking at purchasing two new machines. >> Specs for both are as follows: >> >> Mid Sized ATX Case >> 750 Watt Modular Power Supply >> Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H Motherboard >> Intel Core i5 6400 >> 16GB RAM (in 2x8GB Sticks) >> 2x 2TB Hard Drives (One for operating system, one for files/games) DVD >> Drive GeForce GTX 960 2GB >> >> Cost is just around $1100 per machine. >> >> One machine will also need a Windows license (Roughly $200), with the >> preference being to get a Windows 7 License if possible, otherwise >> going with a Windows 10 one. >> >> Total cost: Around $2500, depending on who we get it from. >> >> Aim is to build two machines that could operate as either Windows or >> Linux machines, with one of these taking the place of Cockgrunter, the >> other taking the place of Pinball. The parts salvaged from these two >> machines will be put into other machines where suitable, or be >> disposed of/put into the parts bin where not. >> >> Regards, >> Mitchell Pomery >> >> 2015 President >> University Computer Club >> _______________________________________________ >> List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/tech >> >> Unsubscribe here: >> http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/options/tech/bob%40ucc.gu.uwa.e >> du.au >> > _______________________________________________ > List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/committee > _______________________________________________ > List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/committee > From trs80 at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au Sat Mar 12 16:57:03 2016 From: trs80 at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au (James Andrewartha) Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2016 16:57:03 +0800 (AWST) Subject: [tech] [committee] Purchase of 2 New Machines In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Sat, 12 Mar 2016, Mitchell Pomery wrote: > I'd prefer to avoid SSD's as Operating system disks for the time being. On > the windows machines the disk will be nowhere near large enough for > profiles, and I would like both machines to be able to have the same > specs. That said, assuming we can get one at around the $100 mark. Here's a 480GB SSD for $A175 plus shipping: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B019WARKRE/ I strongly advocate for an SSD, it will make logging in much quicker and using the machines nicer in general. "Silicon Power?s Slim S55 SSD has a surprisingly great performance and did not let us down in any of our benchmarks." http://www.eteknix.com/silicon-power-slim-s55-240gb-solid-state-drive-review/9/ via https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/238591 via coxy on IRC. -- # TRS-80 trs80(a)ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au #/ "Otherwise Bub here will do \ # UCC Wheel Member http://trs80.ucc.asn.au/ #| what squirrels do best | [ "There's nobody getting rich writing ]| -- Collect and hide your | [ software that I know of" -- Bill Gates, 1980 ]\ nuts." -- Acid Reflux #231 / From james at cox.cx Sat Mar 12 19:54:57 2016 From: james at cox.cx (James Cox) Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2016 19:54:57 +0800 Subject: [tech] [committee] Purchase of 2 New Machines In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "One thing I wouild like to see UCC start doing is purchasing machines from one supplier. Why? It builds a relationship with that supplier and will help us to secure discounts, for both ourselves and our members.? I think this is a noble idea in theory, but I do not see that there is any value in it when the PC parts market is as notorious as it is. A. Anyone with enough margin to give us and our members a discount would be too expensive to be worth ordering from. B. A relationship with a retailer is not particularly useful since most (all) retailers shirk their warranty obligations. C. Less importantly, a single supplier is likely not going to carry the eclectic range of stuff we need anyway. [RME]~Coxy On 12 March 2016 at 13:29, Mitchell Pomery wrote: > Hey, > > It's a personal preference to have DVD drives in machines, so much so that > I would be willing to donate the $40 to make sure that they have them. > > Power supply: We can drop it down to a 500-600W one for sure. I'd like to > keep it modular (or at least semi modular) just for ease of use and > prettiness inside the case (cable management yo). > > I'd prefer to avoid SSD's as Operating system disks for the time being. On > the windows machines the disk will be nowhere near large enough for > profiles, and I would like both machines to be able to have the same > specs. That said, assuming we can get one at around the $100 mark. > > >From my conversation with [BOB] last night, the reason for picking that > specific graphics card was because it should have ball bearing fans, which > should last much longer than the fans of graphics cards we have had die > previously. I'll have a look at the different GTX 960's to find out which > ones have ball bearing fans. > > One thing I wouild like to see UCC start doing is purchasing machines from > one supplier. Why? It builds a relationship with that supplier and will > help us to secure discounts, for both ourselves and our members. And as > you've said, this is important as our income is about to take a hit. > > Anyway, I will be placing the order Monday afternoon. > > Thanks, > Mitchell Pomery > > 2015 President > University Computer Club > > > On Tue, 8 Mar 2016, jordan meerwald wrote: > > > I agree with most of the points raised here. DVD drives in each machine > are > > unnecessary and the i5 750 in Pinball can last another year (I have the > same > > in my own PC) if theres a core 2 duo that could be replaced instead. > > > > The PLE centurion 6 has an included cheap 500W PSU, its closer to $100 > > without that > > ( > http://www.vtechindustries.com.au/catalog/product/view/id/10420/s/cooler-ma > > ster-centurion-6-black-case-rc-610-kkn1/ ) > > There are probably cheaper cases that are suitable but that looks quite > > nice, and the power button being on the corner is convenient. If we're > > buying from a single supplier the case will really depend on their stock. > > > > When I built Corydoras it was recommended to me that we should spend at > > least $120 on a PSU, 750W seems high and paying extra for modular isn't > > really necessary, semi-modular is probably worth it though. > > > > I didn't realise 240GB SSDs were down to around the $100 mark. I'm not > > exactly sure how logins work, but would large /away directories cause > issues > > with how many times you can write to an SSD? Unless we need large > amounts of > > storage on the OS drive an SSD is probably worth it. > > > > Given we're expecting these machines to last till 2020 at least, and > likely > > a move to 1440p/1600p in that time, I think a little extra GPU power > will be > > worth it. Most of the Windows machines have 960s in them currently iirc. > The > > benchmarks I've looked at show a 20-30% performance difference. > > > > If you can find a Windows 7 Student license around they were about $80, > but > > apparently non-OEM copies of Windows 7 are getting quite hard to find. It > > may even be worth buying a sub-$100 refurbished computer that has a > windows > > license installed just to transfer it. > > > > [JDN] > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: committee-bounces+kurama101=ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au > > [mailto:committee-bounces+kurama101=ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au] > On > > Behalf Of Andrew Adamson > > Sent: Tuesday, 8 March 2016 8:33 PM > > To: Mitchell Pomery > > Cc: tech at ucc.asn.au; committee at ucc.asn.au > > Subject: Re: [committee] [tech] Purchase of 2 New Machines > > > > Hi Mitch, > > > > That looks like a pretty solid build, but I think there's a couple of > ways > > we can trim it without compromising on computing power or reliability. > > This is particularly relevant given that the clubs income is about to > halve. > > > > For starters, I suggest we ditch the DVD drives; they barely get used on > the > > machines that do have them, and we bought an external DVD drive for this > > exact reason (it lives in the tool cupboard). Time for that to pay for > > itself: $40 saved across two machines. > > > > When you say "Pinball" I assume you mean "Porcupine" - after all, > Porcupine > > is a C2D while Pinball is an i5 with decent specs. Porcupine happens to > have > > a decent case and PSU already, as we were careful in the past to try and > get > > generic cases that would last across a couple of generations and were > > compatible with our security requirements. If I recall correctly it's a > > CoolerMaster Centurion 5 case (mk 1 or 2, not > > sure) and there's nothing wrong with it. We have spare blanking plates > and > > internal parts for it in the machine room. Its power supply is also fine: > > $120 saved on that combo. Cockgrunters case is not compatible with our > > security as far as I know, and needs replacing. Might I suggest a > > CoolerMaster Centurion? > > > > A 750W power supply is pretty overkill in this case. The PSU recommended > on > > the geforce.com website for an i7 3.2 GHz with a GTX 960 is 400W. Given > that > > the trend is towards cooler and lower-wattage electronics, I don't think > > 750W is necessary even for future proofing. If you don't get a PSU with > the > > case, something like the $93 550W coolermaster GM RS550-AMAAB1 from msy > > might be the go. NB: many of the clubroom machines have coolermaster > silent > > pro PSU's in them and they've stood the test of time. > > > > As someone who helps maintain the clubroom machines, I'm pretty keen on > an > > SSD for the system disk. If nothing else, it makes maintenance more > bearable > > when things install quickly. Can we swap one of the 2TB disks for a > > 240GB/250GB ssd in each machine? I have had good results with Kingston > > V300 at work, but I would understand if people want to go with Samsung > > instead. > > > > The GTX960 is only 6% more powerful than the GTX950 based on a range of > > benchmarks I looked at. It's around 30% more expensive, and I would > > challenge anyone to be able to tell the difference, given the games we > > usually run and the resolutions of our screens. Given the number of > graphics > > cards failures we have, I think the money would be better spent on a card > > with more reliable fans and slightly less power. By more reliable fans I > > mean ball bearing fans. "Maglev" and sleeve bearings are shit. Gigabyte > GPU > > fans are shit and we have proven they don't survive in UCC. EVGA seem to > be > > the only company doing ball bearing fans on the GTX 950. > > > > So based on your specs and the above suggestions, I took the liberty of > > doing a more exact costing: > > > > 2 of > > > https://www.ple.com.au/Products/620472/Intel-Core-i5-6400-Skylake-27GHz-6MB- > > Retail-Box > > 2 of > > > http://www.msy.com.au/pc-components/16372-gigabyte-b150m-d3h-intel-b150-s115 > > 1-4xddr4-2xpciex16-hdmi-dvi-d-sub-usb30-microatx-mb.html > > 4 of > > > https://www.ple.com.au/Products/620893/Kingston-8GB-Single-DDR4-Value-Series > > -C15-2133MHz > > 2 of > > > http://www.msy.com.au/pc-components/5282-kingston-kinsv300s37a-240g-240g-ssd > > now-v300-sata3-25-ssd-hdd.html > > 2 of > > > http://www.msy.com.au/waonline/pc-components/5103-seagate-35-barracuda-2tb-s > > t2000dm001-sata3-7200rpm-64mb-cache-hard-disk.html > > 2 of > > > https://www.pccasegear.com/products/33067/evga-geforce-gtx-950-superclocked- > > acx-2-0-2gb > > 1 of > > > https://www.ple.com.au/Products/611809/Cooler-Master-Centurion-6-Black-Mid-T > > ower-Case---500W-PSU > > > > Total cost without shipping: $2171 > > > > Andrew Adamson > > bob at ucc.asn.au > > > > |"If you can't beat them, join them, and then beat them." > | > > | ---Peter's Laws > | > > > > On Mon, 7 Mar 2016, Mitchell Pomery wrote: > > > >> Hey All, > >> > >> As per meeting minutes, we are looking at purchasing two new machines. > >> Specs for both are as follows: > >> > >> Mid Sized ATX Case > >> 750 Watt Modular Power Supply > >> Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H Motherboard > >> Intel Core i5 6400 > >> 16GB RAM (in 2x8GB Sticks) > >> 2x 2TB Hard Drives (One for operating system, one for files/games) DVD > >> Drive GeForce GTX 960 2GB > >> > >> Cost is just around $1100 per machine. > >> > >> One machine will also need a Windows license (Roughly $200), with the > >> preference being to get a Windows 7 License if possible, otherwise > >> going with a Windows 10 one. > >> > >> Total cost: Around $2500, depending on who we get it from. > >> > >> Aim is to build two machines that could operate as either Windows or > >> Linux machines, with one of these taking the place of Cockgrunter, the > >> other taking the place of Pinball. The parts salvaged from these two > >> machines will be put into other machines where suitable, or be > >> disposed of/put into the parts bin where not. > >> > >> Regards, > >> Mitchell Pomery > >> > >> 2015 President > >> University Computer Club > >> _______________________________________________ > >> List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/tech > >> > >> Unsubscribe here: > >> http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/options/tech/bob%40ucc.gu.uwa.e > >> du.au > >> > > _______________________________________________ > > List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/committee > > _______________________________________________ > > List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/committee > > > _______________________________________________ > List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/tech > > Unsubscribe here: > http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/options/tech/james%40cox.cx > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/tech/attachments/20160312/2ce84ba1/attachment-0001.htm From tpg at ucc.asn.au Tue Mar 15 20:53:00 2016 From: tpg at ucc.asn.au (John Hodge) Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2016 20:53:00 +0800 Subject: [tech] Steam on Linux - Working Message-ID: <56E805AC.5000408@ucc.asn.au> Hey Everyone, I have succeeded in coaxing steam games into working on most of the clubroom's Linux machines. Useful notes and caveats - Games are stored locally in /opt/steamapps (which is kept writable by a cronjob running every five minutes) - All users have a symlink in ~/.steam/steamapps and various other locations pointing to this path. The following machines have games installed and are tested working - Cockgrunter (with a nice GTX560Ti in it now, donated by myself as a stopgap until it's replaced - Don't throw that out please, it's working nice card) - Pinball (Works quite nicely, enjoy your games) - Porcupine (Most games run, but may not be smooth enough for nice play) Clownfish and Cabellera are still using the nouveau driver (which doesn't have good game support), and hence haven't been strictly tested. The rest of the machines have the official nvidia drivers installed from the mint repositories (so they should auto-update, and are trivially removable/installable, see the SOE) This setup isn't 100% reliable - There are some users for whom the /opt/steamapps symlink either is missing, was removed, doesn't work, or steam plain ignores - These will get games installed to /away, so will require some monitoring to avoid /away filling up. John Hodge [TPG] UCC Wheel Member - Breaking things to fix them. From jmeerjt11 at hotmail.com Thu Mar 17 23:05:51 2016 From: jmeerjt11 at hotmail.com (jordan meerwald) Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2016 15:05:51 +0000 Subject: [tech] New Computers Message-ID: Hi all, I've been narrowing parts down by vendor to what the best choices could be. I have done this for PLE, MSY and PCCG, except the graphics cards which are not cheap at any of these vendors and the Centurion case Bob recommended which is not at any of these stores (without a crappy PSU thrown in). I have suggested a cheaper case from each store too. It's a good thing we didn't buy anything yet as PLE is having a 10% off most things sale this Saturday (www.ple.com.au/25years) PLE 25 Year Anniversary Sale (Saturday 19/3 only): Intel i5 6400 $276 Gigabyte B150M D3H $125.10 Kingston 2x8GB 2133 DDR4 $109 SanDisk Plus 240GB SSD $89 or Samsung 850 Evo 250GB $121.50 Seagate Barracuda 2TB $98.10 SeaSonic 550RM G-series $134.10 $831.30 or $863.80 with samsung SSD, excluding case and GPU Coolermaster N300 case $62.10 Most parts are cheaper at MSY normally but the sale changes things. MSY: Intel i5 6400 $269 Gigabyte B150M D3H $129 Kingston 2x8GB 2133 DDR4 $124 Samsung 850 Evo M2 250GB $131 Seagate Barracuda 2TB $99 Antec TPC-550W $117 $869, excluding case and GPU Coolermaster K282 case $59 PCCG is competitive with MSY on most prices but I haven't included shipping. PCCG: Intel i5 6400 $269 Gigabyte B150M D3H $135 Corsair 2x8GB 2133 DDR4 $129 Samsung 850 Evo 250GB $129 Seagate Barracuda 2TB $99 Seasonic M12II 520W EVO $115 $876, excluding case and GPU Thermaltake Versa H24 case $59 The only GPUs with ball bearing fans are EVGA with ACX2.0 fans and ASUS Turbo models. Of these you can get the EVGA GTX960 SC for USD$192.16 on amazon sold by EVGA, or AUD$251.73 last I checked. This includes shipping. The cheapest in Australia I found was from Kogan for $258.67, no idea on shipping costs though The Coolermaster Centurion 6 is hard to find, but netplus in Perth has them for $109, or ebay has them for $134.90 including shipping. I'm not sure what we look for in a case other than 'be able to drill a hole in the side' but I like the layout of this one. Here's some of my reasoning behind parts choices: CPU: i5 6400 is the cheapest Skylake i5, pretty much the only logical choice. M/B: B150M D3H has 4 DDR4 DIMMs at 2133MHz, an M2 slot and Sata Express, and the only difference between it and more expensive H170 boards I could find is lack of RAID support and no USB3.1 gen2, which we don't really need. mATX gives us the option of smaller cases but I haven't gone with any. RAM: any 2133MHz DDR4 that's not from a dodgy company is fine, I went with 16GB but if 8GB would probably suffice and can be increased later. SSD: Samsung are good and not overpriced, MSY only charges $2 more for M2 so I went with that there. PCI Express SSDs are too expensive and 120GB too small. HDD: Barracuda, 2TB stops people complaining that things are being uninstalled all the time to make space. PSU: Seasonic uses ball bearing fans, long cables and the best Japanese capacitors, the MSY Antec one is also made by seasonic. iirc these all had 5 year warranties too. The Corsair CS450 is $105 at MSY and PCCG too which could save a little money if 450W is enough (has only 1 6+2 PCIe for example too). Please send any suggestions in the next day or so as the PLE sale is one day only. Thanks [JDN] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/tech/attachments/20160317/06d5b092/attachment.htm From james at cox.cx Fri Mar 18 21:55:21 2016 From: james at cox.cx (James Cox) Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2016 21:55:21 +0800 Subject: [tech] New Computers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: MSY is clearing out Asus Turbo (i.e. dual-ball-bearing fan models) 960s for $224: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/239487 [RME]~Coxy On 17 March 2016 at 23:05, jordan meerwald wrote: > Hi all, > > > > I?ve been narrowing parts down by vendor to what the best choices could > be. I have done this for PLE, MSY and PCCG, except the graphics cards which > are not cheap at any of these vendors and the Centurion case Bob > recommended which is not at any of these stores (without a crappy PSU > thrown in). I have suggested a cheaper case from each store too. > > > > It?s a good thing we didn?t buy anything yet as PLE is having a 10% off > most things sale this Saturday (www.ple.com.au/25years) > > PLE 25 Year Anniversary Sale (Saturday 19/3 only): > > Intel i5 6400 $276 > > Gigabyte B150M D3H $125.10 > > Kingston 2x8GB 2133 DDR4 $109 > > SanDisk Plus 240GB SSD $89 > > or Samsung 850 Evo 250GB $121.50 > > Seagate Barracuda 2TB $98.10 > > SeaSonic 550RM G-series $134.10 > > > > $831.30 or $863.80 with samsung SSD, excluding case and GPU > > Coolermaster N300 case $62.10 > > > > Most parts are cheaper at MSY normally but the sale changes things. > > MSY: > > Intel i5 6400 $269 > > Gigabyte B150M D3H $129 > > Kingston 2x8GB 2133 DDR4 $124 > > Samsung 850 Evo M2 250GB $131 > > Seagate Barracuda 2TB $99 > > Antec TPC-550W $117 > > > > $869, excluding case and GPU > > Coolermaster K282 case $59 > > > > PCCG is competitive with MSY on most prices but I haven?t included > shipping. > > PCCG: > > Intel i5 6400 $269 > > Gigabyte B150M D3H $135 > > Corsair 2x8GB 2133 DDR4 $129 > > Samsung 850 Evo 250GB $129 > > Seagate Barracuda 2TB $99 > > Seasonic M12II 520W EVO $115 > > > > $876, excluding case and GPU > > Thermaltake Versa H24 case $59 > > > > The only GPUs with ball bearing fans are EVGA with ACX2.0 fans and ASUS > Turbo models. > > Of these you can get the EVGA GTX960 SC for USD$192.16 on amazon sold by > EVGA, or AUD$251.73 last I checked. This includes shipping. > > The cheapest in Australia I found was from Kogan for $258.67, no idea on > shipping costs though > > > > The Coolermaster Centurion 6 is hard to find, but netplus in Perth has > them for $109, or ebay has them for $134.90 including shipping. I?m not > sure what we look for in a case other than ?be able to drill a hole in the > side? but I like the layout of this one. > > > > Here?s some of my reasoning behind parts choices: > > CPU: i5 6400 is the cheapest Skylake i5, pretty much the only logical > choice. > > M/B: B150M D3H has 4 DDR4 DIMMs at 2133MHz, an M2 slot and Sata Express, > and the only difference between it and more expensive H170 boards I could > find is lack of RAID support and no USB3.1 gen2, which we don?t really > need. mATX gives us the option of smaller cases but I haven?t gone with any. > > RAM: any 2133MHz DDR4 that?s not from a dodgy company is fine, I went with > 16GB but if 8GB would probably suffice and can be increased later. > > SSD: Samsung are good and not overpriced, MSY only charges $2 more for M2 > so I went with that there. PCI Express SSDs are too expensive and 120GB too > small. > > HDD: Barracuda, 2TB stops people complaining that things are being > uninstalled all the time to make space. > > PSU: Seasonic uses ball bearing fans, long cables and the best Japanese > capacitors, the MSY Antec one is also made by seasonic. iirc these all had > 5 year warranties too. The Corsair CS450 is $105 at MSY and PCCG too which > could save a little money if 450W is enough (has only 1 6+2 PCIe for > example too). > > > > Please send any suggestions in the next day or so as the PLE sale is one > day only. > > > > Thanks > > > > [JDN] > > _______________________________________________ > List Archives: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/tech > > Unsubscribe here: > http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/mailman/options/tech/james%40cox.cx > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/pipermail/tech/attachments/20160318/24dd54b5/attachment-0001.htm From bob at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au Sat Mar 19 09:11:47 2016 From: bob at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au (Andrew Adamson) Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2016 09:11:47 +0800 (AWST) Subject: [tech] New Computers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Thu, 17 Mar 2016, jordan meerwald wrote: > > The Coolermaster Centurion 6 is hard to find, but netplus in Perth has them for $109, or ebay has them for $134.90 including shipping. I?m not sure what we look for in a case other > than ?be able to drill a hole in the side? but I like the layout of this one. > There's two things we are trying to achieve by securing our computers; firstly we want it to take at least 15 minutes to steal the whole box, and secondly we want to prevent individual components from being stolen by someone taking off the cover. We satisfy both goals by putting the hole in the case through the side cover and the main chassis. The hole in the side cover needs to be quite close to the rear edge so the cover cannot be removed while there's an 8mm cable through the hole - this requires a little bit of maths and accurate measuring+drilling to get right, but does work. For this securing method to work, the style of the cover must be such that you slide the cover backwards to release it from the main chassis - it can't be a cover that simply hinges off once you undo the screws. When looking for a new case I usually look at a youtube unboxing of the case to check how the cover comes off. From just pictures of the cases you suggested, thay look like they're probably all okay, but it's worth double checking. Andrew Adamson bob at ucc.asn.au |"If you can't beat them, join them, and then beat them." | | ---Peter's Laws |